Recording Sky on DVR

[Aire de Drome]

Not strictly a computor issue , but does anyone know if Sky subscription channels - not Freeview - can be recorded onto a non-Sky DVR? The decoder has a scart output, and if a DVR, Humox for example, were connected, do you know if that would record? Hope so. Would appreciate any comments.

[Capetonian]

Yes, I used to record from Sky which was received on a Pace decoder, onto a Panasonic DVR. You can either connect the decoder directly to the DVR, with another feed to the TV, or the decorder to the TV and then out of the TV to the DVR, depending on your connections.

I have now replaced the old Sky box with a Sky+ HD which a built in hard disk, and whilst recording onto that is easy, I have yet to work out how to record onto the DVR, which I sometimes want to do.

[Spitoon]

I record Sky on a DVR using SCART output but quality is a lot lower than the Sky box delivers - something between VHS ans analogue broadcast perhaps. Don't know the technical details but I assume this is because SCART signals are analogue. So, simple answer to your question - yes, it can be done.

[mixture]

Because of the contractual requirements Sky has with the rights-holders to flow-down holder's IPR, the Sky boxes incorporate mechanisms to prevent unauthorised timeshifting of content.

Where timeshifting is permitted, the signal will be made available through SCART. However, as Spitoon points out, you can expect this to be degraded as they want to dissuade people from re-broadcasting high-res copyrighted content on YouTube.

[Ancient Observer]

It is doable. I have one of those Panasonic does-everything boxes, (pre-blu-ray) and if I really want to record from either Sky or Sky+'s HDD, I play the prog thru the Panasonic to the tv, and get the Panasonic to record on to its own HDD. From there it can go to either tape or dvd. As Mr Cape, says, piccy is OK, but not up to Sk's normal quality. I do not pay for Sky HD,/3D/etc so I dunno if that works.
As the different boxes are normally in different rooms, it is not something I bother with much. Have yet to encounter Mr Mixture's point about IP rights, but I do not copy that much that often.

[mixture]

Have yet to encounter Mr Mixture's point about IP rights, but I do not copy that much that often.

Only really fully comes into play (mostly) for Sky Sports content and Box Office type stuff, otherwise it's just more subtle protection mechanisms.